Desormeaux et al v. United States Postal Service et al

Filing 10

ORDER Striking 9 Motion for Default Judgment. Signed by District Judge F. Kay Behm. (KMac)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
JOSEPH LINNELL DESORMEAUX, JR.,
LISA ANN DESORMEAUX,

Case No. 23-12480
F. Kay Behm
United States District Judge

Plaintiffs,
v.
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, et
al.,
Defendants.
___________________________ /

ORDER STRIKING MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT (ECF No. 9)
Plaintiffs Joseph and Lisa Desormeaux filed a complaint against Defendants
on October 2, 2023, alleging their property was damaged by the negligence of a
USPS employee. (ECF No. 1, PageID.5). Plaintiffs have now filed a motion for
entry of default judgment against Defendants. (ECF No. 9). On review of the
docket in this matter, no default has been entered by the Clerk of the Court in
accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55 and Local Rule 55.1, which is
required before a party may proceed with a motion for entry of default judgment
based on a failure to answer or otherwise respond to a complaint. See SGA Glob.,
LLC v. Surface Coatings Co., 2007 WL 2897847, at *1 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 26, 2007)
(Cleland, J.) (citing Ramada Franchise Sys., Inc., 220 F.R.D. 303, 305 (N.D. Ohio

1

2004) (quoting Sys. Indus., Inc. v. Han, 105 F.R.D. 72, 74 (E.D. Penn. 1985)) (“Entry
of a default ... is a prerequisite to entry of a default judgment under Rule 55(b).”);
DeTore v. Local # 245 of the Jersey City Public Employees Union, 511 F. Supp. 171,
176 (D.N.J. 1981) (“However, no default judgment may be entered under either
F.R.Civ.P. 55(b)(1) or (b)(2) unless a default has previously been entered by the
clerk under 55(a). Thus, the entry of default is an essential predicate to any
default judgment.”). As observed in SGA Global, the majority of courts require
the entry of a default before the court can enter a default judgment. Thus, such a
request for default judgment without a previous entry of a default is improper
and is appropriately stricken from the docket of the court. Id. at *1.
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s motion for entry of default judgment
(ECF No. 9) is STRICKEN as improperly filed.
SO ORDERED.
Date: February 5, 2024

s/ F. Kay Behm
F. Kay Behm
United States District Judge

2